Gilroy Today 2014 09 Fall | Page 30

Linda McGinnis – Author in our Midst

By Robin Shepherd

Linda McGinnis is a name to watch in the South Valley cultural arts community . McGinnis is a local author with a passion for her craft and a savvy approach to a publishing world that ’ s gone digital . She also welcomes opportunities to share ideas , experiences and resources with other writers .

Creative Roots As a young girl , Linda treasured time with her friend from across the street . The two girls would set up a card table , sift through their cache of paper and pens , and spend hours together creating poems , stories and drawings . At the age of five , McGinnis was sowing the seeds of what would become a lifelong passion .
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“ My early inspiration came from my family ,” said McGinnis . “ My father was a great story teller . He and my mother both encouraged me to express my creativity through writing , photography and music , and my grandmother taught me how to quilt .”
Today , McGinnis is flourishing as an author of Young Adult fiction and more recently of New Adult fiction , an increasingly popular category that appeals to readers aged 18 to 30 . She has six novels on the market with a seventh book already underway .
“ I became interested in history while in college ,” said McGinnis , “ but as I explored history more deeply in the years that followed , I noticed a lack of historical fiction written about and for this age group . I decided that I wanted to write for them .”